Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Evercore ISI

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) was upgraded by Evercore ISI from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bread Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Bread Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bread Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Bread Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Bread Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Bread Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.09.

Bread Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BFH opened at $79.39 on Thursday. Bread Financial has a fifty-two week low of $38.21 and a fifty-two week high of $82.03. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.03.

Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $1.67. The firm had revenue of $975.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.74 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 17.92%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bread Financial will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bread Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 23rd that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bread Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BFH. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bread Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Bread Financial by 141.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Bread Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 8,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 840 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock.

About Bread Financial

Bread Financial, formerly known as Alliance Data Systems, is a Columbus, Ohio–based financial services company that specializes in providing private label credit programs, co-brand credit cards and digital payment solutions for retail partners. The company designs, issues and services proprietary credit products, enabling merchants to offer branded financing options that drive customer loyalty and increase basket sizes at the point of sale. Through its Bread technology platform, Bread Financial delivers installment-based payment options that integrate directly into e-commerce and in-store checkout experiences.

In addition to its core credit offerings, Bread Financial provides analytics, marketing and loyalty services to help merchants better understand consumer behavior and optimize promotional strategies.